FAFSA Form & Financial Aid Form Blog

How do you know if you’re dependent or independent by school standards?

There are 10 primary criteria points which are used to make that determination.  You are independent if you fall into one of the following categories…

- If you are 24 or older

- If you are married

- If you are pursuiing an advanced degree

- If you are active duty military, or a veteran

- Students who are parents and whose child gets half of their support or more from them

- Students who have someone else living with them and receive more than half their support

- If you were a foster child or ward of the court after the age of 13, you are automatically independent

- If you are a legally emancipated minor

- If you are in a legal guardianship as determined by the court

- If you are homeless (lacking, fixed, regular, adequate housing)

In the wake of the changes in the economy and the increase in students going to college, the face of college campuses has changed along with the times.  Student’s have more options and flexibility for classes such as hybrid classes and getting their degree online. There have been changes that range from different majors offered to increased tuition, to a change in administration at many colleges across the U.S. Outlined below are the 5 top changes that are being seen at colleges and universities throughout the states:

1. Demographics: There are more students over the age of 25 than ever before; recent surveys suggest 40% of the student population is over the age of 25. Also the female to male ratio is said to be 60-40.
2. Community College & Proud of It: gone are the days when you do whatever it takes to get into that prestigious school. People don’t want to burden themselves with debt anymore, especially in an uncertain economy. There is also less judgment on where a person has a degree from when searching for a job. It’s the degree that matters, not really where the degree is from. (no including if you went to an IVY league school..that tends to make a difference).
3. Internet in the Classroom: Many professors have moved away from note writing on the blackboard and turned to planned out PowerPoint presentations, online videos and displays, and even using an online plagiarism tool to scan student’s work for plagiarism (watch out kids!).
4. Online Classroom Influx: The number of students getting their degree in the comfort of their own home has increased dramatically over the past 5 years…so to has the legitimacy of these degrees. This change has allowed  many people to continue to work full time and still earn a degree.
5. Purchase a college: These days parents and adult students are looking at college as a personal purchase…something they buy. If they aren’t fully satisfied with any aspect of it (grades, professor, administrative issues), the consumer speaks up and fights to change it. If a school is disorganized and run poorly, a student will transfer out instead of pushing through it. Hey…your paying for it, so you might as well be satisfied. This also has forced colleges to do everything possible to make the consumer/student content.

What about you? Share your experiences by leaving a comment…or add  ones I didn’t write about. If you are a returning student I would love to hear your comparison of college now as opposed to 5 or 10 years ago.

Just a quick note about this sticky topic. Why does it ask for your step parents info on the FAFSA even though your step parent may not support you financially in any way? Well the bottom line is this…the Dept of Education doesn’t pay any attention to whether your step parent contributes financially to you and your education but if your mom or dad remarries, that person’s income is considered part of your household and therefore must be reported on the FAFSA…there is no way around this. In a lot of instances this will make some student’s ineligible for grants because their household income is too high. It doesn’t seem fair but that is just the way it is. An alternative is waiting until you are 24 to go to school, then you would be completely independent!

For more information regarding financial aid and in depth FAFSA questions you can visit the financial aid forum.

More often than not I am asked questions about how much control a school’s financial aid office has over Federal aid awarded to the student. Many students argue that it is their aid and the school should not have a right to withhold it from them at any point in time. Unfortunately it is not as cut and dry as it sounds. Recently I received an email about a student who insisted on handling her own financial aid; this email was sent from an employee at a college who was concerned about how to deal with this student and her requests. Her argument was as follows:

She says the financial aid should not be going to the school, that it should be going directly to her since it is HER aid and not the school’s. She says she worked in the business office of a school for a short time, and she has also spoken to a financial aid person in California who told her that she should have control of her financial aid and that it should not go to the school first with her getting whatever is left over. She wants the aid to all go to her and she would then pay the school what she owes for tuition and fees.

While the student is correct that the aid is hers and not the school’s, she is probably not aware that while it may be Federal aid, it is still very heavily mandated by each school that participates in the Federal loan program. A school cannot just participate in the program, have no controls over the aid being disbursed, and expect that they will maintain their eligibly to participate in the program. If a certain amount of students from a college default on their loan, the college can (and will) lose their eligibility to certify Stafford loans for all students. My point is this: while yes, it is your aid, you are not entitled to it unless you follow the school’s rules. You must maintain a certain GPA, and you must be at least  a part time students. School’s have all these measures in place to make sure that the people who get the aid, not only deserve it, but do not abuse it because there are consequences. A Stafford loan cannot become a loan until the school certifies it as such; plain and simple. A pell grant is money you don’t have to pay back, so if you get a grant for Fall semester and you flunk out or you get below a 2.0 GPA you will have to pay that grant back and pay the school back the money for the tuition the grant covered. The biggest mistake a student can make is believing that once you get the aid, it’s yours to keep. You have to be deserving of the aid, and if you are not…then there is without a doubt someone standing behind you who is.

Did you know you are not required to complete your IRS federal tax return before filing your FAFSA? It is a common misnomer that it is required when it is simply encouraged.

Having your federal tax return complete will save you a LOT of time when completing your FAFSA. The reason being is that a number of items on the FAFSA refer directly to your 1040 tax return.

So a recap. Is your tax return required before completing your FAFSA? NO. Is it encouraged? YES.

Yes, you need to complete a new FAFSA each year.

New financial information must be captured, whether good or bad, which aids in determining your eligibility. Thankfully you don’t need to complete the entire form from scratch again. You can “update” your FAFSA from year to year with the pertinent details. Happy filing!

This article from the New York Times is worth a read. For information on how to get in to specific colleges please visit Howtogetin.com:

Colleges Offer New Web Calculators That Can Help Estimate the Bottom Line

By Niko Koppel

To make it easier for prospective students to figure out how much it will cost them to go to college, Congress last year passed a higher education law that, among other things, requires all colleges to offer a “net price calculator” on their Web sites by 2011.

Many colleges and universities have been doing this for some time, and last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology joined them, introducing its own calculator that allows prospective students to get detailed estimates of their out-of-pocket costs as well as their eligibility for financial aid.

Such calculators are likely to provide a closer approximation of the true costs of particular colleges than general calculators available on multiple Web sites, or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which offers a figure for the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) but does not take into account the criteria of individual schools.

“It was like using a shotgun to kill a house fly,” Daniel Barkowitz, director of of M.I.T.’s student financial aid, said of the FAFSA. The M.I.T. financial aid calculator gathers all the data from the FAFSA and adds additional questions on home equity, school and medical expenses. “The major thing keeping people from college is perceived cost. The calculator demystifies the sticker price.”

On Mr. Barkowitz’s blog, prospective students posted responses to the launch of the new calculator. “Thanks so much, this makes me even more determined to shine on that MIT app!” wrote Cody Dean.

The calculators are intended to assist candidates who are eager to find out early if they can afford the school that they hope to attend. In addition to M.I.T., Princeton, Yale, Williams College, and Amherst College already have estimators and Harvard has one under development.

Although the calculators are the result of much testing with real cases, many developed by Think Ahead LLC, some calculators have restrictions, such as excluding international students, and others are not intended for use by divorced couples. They also leave out scenarios such as a parent losing a job, which would require a human interaction with a financial counselor.

Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the financial aid Web site FinAid.Org, said in an e-mail that elite colleges “may be implementing calculators now more to show how their colleges cost less out of pocket as a recruiting tool, rather than to fulfill the federal requirement.”

Robin Moscato, director of undergraduate financial aid at Princeton University, said that the school first added its calculator to its Web site in 1998.

“There was some concern that in putting up an estimator that prospective students and their families would use it incorrectly and be very disappointed” said Ms. Moscato, “But they feel like the estimator is a good prediction of what they expected to receive.”

If you are completing a paper FAFSA, you can only list four colleges in the school code step. However, you may add more colleges by doing one of the following…

1. Use your Federal Student Aid PIN and go to FAFSA on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Select the “add or delete a school code” link.

2. Use your SAR report. Your Data Release Number (DRN) verifies your identity and will be listed on the first page of your SAR. You can then call 800-4-FED-AID and provide your DRN to a customer service representative, who will add more school codes for you.

3. Provide your DRN to the finnacil aid administrator at the college you want added, and he or she can add their school codes to your FAFSA.

Note: Your FAFSA record can only list up to ten school codes. Any new schools you add over the alloted ten will require you to delete one of the ten

According to socialsecurity.gov if you are a blind or disabled child who is regularly attending college, or a course of vocational or technical training, you have limited earnings potential that is not counted against your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. In fact, the maximum amount increased for 2009.

Income Exclusion Amounts for 2009
For 2009, the student earned income exclusion amount is $1,640 per month, and $6,600 for the year. That’s up 5.8% from 2008.

What exactly qualifies as Untaxed Income on your FAFSA (Question 95i)?

This question/category is kind of vague. Some examples shown are worker’s comp or disability, but the more illustrative list is the list of what not to include, such as student aid (including scholarships), earned income credit, tax credits for kids, welfare, Social Security, workforce investment, combat pay, flex saving plans, foreign income, and most other tax credits like special fuels. Chances are most people don’t have anything to add here - if you think your parents might, you’ll want to consult a qualified financial planner with them.